Case Details
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Case ID: 6285
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat
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Case #6285 Rating: 0.0



3 kittens denied vet care by pet store
Niagara Falls, ON (CA)

Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 30, 2005

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Swallownest Holdings, Ltd

Swallownest Holdings Ltd., the operator of Doogan�s pet store in Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Ontario Court of Justice, St. Catharines to the Criminal Code of Canada charge of wilfully causing unnecessary suffering by failing to provide veterinary care to three kittens.

On July 30, 2004 the Niagara Falls Humane Society received a call from the Doogan�s pet store at the Niagara Square Shopping Centre in Niagara Falls. The store wanted to surrender three kittens that had been brought to them on July 26. On July 27, the day after the kittens arrived at the store, employees noticed that the kittens were lethargic and picking at their food. One of the kittens began showing signs of an eye infection early in the week. The infection progressed through the week such that the eye became very swollen and puss-filled. The assistant manager at the store contacted the store�s owner, who told him to contact the people who brought in the kittens and have them take the ailing kittens back. If the people couldn�t be contacted by the end of the week the assistant manager was told to call the Humane Society to take the animals. The people who brought in the kittens could not be reached, so the Niagara Fall Humane Society was contacted. At no point during the week did Doogan�s pet store seek veterinary attention for the kittens.

Immediately upon removing the kittens from the pet store, the investigator with the Humane Society took them to a veterinarian. The kittens, all between seven to eight weeks old, were determined to be suffering from a viral infection, and were severely emaciated, dehydrated and unable to walk. One of the kittens was near death and suffering from a severe eye infection � its right eye socket was puss filled, the eyeball had collapsed and the cornea had ruptured. Due to all of its ailments the veterinarian recommended that the kitten be euthanized. The two remaining kittens were euthanized one week later due to poor health.
�The kittens had very poor body conditions when taken to the veterinarian and should have received medical attention as soon as they showed signs of poor health in the pet store,� says Ontario SPCA Inspector Don Horvath. �Just because they were no longer considered �sellable� by the store doesn�t mean they shouldn�t have received all the necessary care. Pet stores in possession of an animal have a responsibility under the law to provide suitable and adequate veterinary care for them.�

Swallownest Holdings Ltd., the owner of Doogan�s pet store, was fined $500.

References

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